Liga Betclic: AVS-Benfica X-ray

After two matches at Estádio da Luz – against Vitória SC, in the Liga Betclic, and Bologna, in the Champions League –, Benfica goes on the road with a trip to AVS, in Vila das Aves, this Sunday, December 15, at 6 pm.

Having won eight straight Liga Betclic matches under Bruno Lage, the Reds are aiming for another three points on matchday 14. During this hiatus - wins against Santa Clara (4-1), Boavista (0-3), Gil Vicente (5-1), Rio Ave (5-0), Farense (1-2), FC Porto (4-1), Arouca (0-2) and Vitória SC (1-0) –, the eagles scored 26 goals and conceded 4, out of 7 in the competition so far. The Reds have the best defense in the league, and their defensive solidity will be another asset in this trip to the north of the country.

Benfica come into this stage with 31 points to their name and will face an opponent with 11, occupying 14th place in the standings. The hosts haven't won any of their last eight Liga Betclic matches, with their most recent victory coming at home to Rio Ave (1-0) on September 14.

Benfica and AVS have only faced each other once in history, and that was in the group stage of the League Cup: in 2023/24, the Reds won 4-1 at Estádio da Luz. In a direct comparison of the collective performance of the two teams in this league, the Eagles are superior in several aspects, such as possession (60% Benfica to 43% AVS, on average), shots on target (6.8 to 2.6), passing efficiency (85.6% to 80.1%, with an average of 455.4 and 292.1 accurate passes per game) and duels won (52.3% to 50.7%).

Looking at each sector in particular, the differences between the two teams become even more concrete. Defensively, Benfica have so far gone six games without conceding a goal, compared to four for AVS, and the average number of goals conceded per game is 0.6 compared to 1.6.

The Benfica team has more interceptions per game (8.6 against 7.5) and makes more tackles on average per match (19.3 against 16.3).

In attacking terms, Benfica are the team with the most accurate long passes (26.4 per game and 62.4% accuracy, compared to 17.1 and 44% for the northerners), scoring an average of 2.6 goals per game, compared to 0.8 for AVS.

In addition to these figures, which sum up Benfica and AVS's journey in 2024/25, there is an extra factor that will have a lot of weight in Sunday's clash: the crowd. The eagles know that they will step onto the pitch with the warmth of their fans, who will help create an atmosphere conducive to winning another 3 points in this fight for the national title.